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The future is now. Hundreds of Net Zero and Net Zero Ready buildings are on this site, and more are coming online every day.

Net Zero buildings are all-electric and produce or procure renewable energy to cover their operational emissions. Net Zero Ready buildings are electrified and efficient enough to run on renewable energy as soon as sources are available.

Net Zero and Net Zero Ready Projects by Year (GSF)
Year Net Zero Ready GSF Net Zero GSF Total GSF
2003 0 19,200 19,200
2009 0 16,800 16,800
2010 0 93,833 93,833
2011 0 68,400 68,400
2012 112,000 80,336 192,336
2013 132,900 924 133,824
2014 16,800 52,200 69,000
2015 142,295 194,500 336,795
2016 154,897 176,565 331,462
2017 125,831 0 125,831
2018 259,523 104,700 364,223
2019 60,905 354,945 415,850
2020 564,754 157,777 722,531
2021 2,269,687 243,963 2,513,650
2022 1,189,161 1,635,266 2,824,427
2023 2,476,879 1,501,785 3,978,664
2024 6,205,516 3,576,030 9,781,546
2025 6,997,637 3,114,256 10,111,893
2026 6,848,077 3,629,149 10,477,226
2027 7,997,597 2,886,118 10,883,715
2028 9,432,322 2,619,747 12,052,069
2029 6,966,053 2,790,885 9,756,938
2030 8,367,851 1,464,953 9,832,804
2031 353,198 595,000 948,198

This trend stretches across every industry.

From multifamily housing and K-12 schools to labs and healthcare, projects across a wide range of industries are achieving high-performance building standards, proof that achieving Net Zero is possible regardless of project type.

Net Zero Building Types
Building Types Number of Projects
Education K-12 94
Education: Higher Ed 24
Food Sales & Service 0
Healthcare 10
Laboratory / Tech / Science 53
Lodging 26
Manufacturing / Industrial 0
Mixed Use 57
Office 21
Public Assembly / Entertainment 20
Public Services 16
Residential: Affordable Multi Family 166
Residential: Multi-family 133
Retail 2
Senior Living 51
Warehouse / Storage 1
Total 674

Net zero buildings are being built at the same cost as conventional buildings.

Of the projects that reported cost data, many Net Zero and Net Zero Ready buildings have less than a 1% construction cost premium compared to conventional buildings. High-performing buildings also significantly reduce operating costs, which can offset any upfront premiums in a matter of years.

Projects by Construction Cost Range
Cost Range Number of projects
<-11% 2
-11% to -6.1% 0
-6% to -3.1% 0
-3% to -1.1% 0
-1% to 1% 61
1.1% to 3% 9
3.1% to 5% 4
5.1% to 8% 11
8.1% to 10% 2
10.1% to 12% 0
>12% 1
Not calculated 85
Total 175

Net Zero buildings employ a range of heating options to achieve electrification.

The majority of Net Zero and Net Zero Ready projects employ heat pumps to electrify their heating and cooling operations. There are many options available to design teams, made easy by low overall energy demand in ultra-efficient projects.

Projects by Heat Source
Heat Sources Number of Projects
Air-source Heat Pump 488
Exhaust-source Heat Pump 8
Ground-source Heat Pump 127
Water-source Heat Pump 2
Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) 96
Total 721

Electrification of domestic hot water is possible for large scale buildings across a variety of industries.

Many projects use electrified domestic hot water systems, deploying a range of strategies with proven performance across multifamily, education K-12, and lab projects, just to name a few.

Hot Water Heating Source by Project Type
Project Type Air-source heat pump Electric resistance instantaneous Electric resistance storage Ground-source heat pump Heat recovery heat pump District heating electric Unspecified Total
Education K-12 5 7 11 16 0 0 55 94
Education: Higher Ed 2 0 2 0 0 0 20 24
Food Sales & Service 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Healthcare 2 0 1 1 0 0 4 8
Laboratory / Tech / Science 4 5 8 2 1 1 28 49
Lodging 8 1 6 1 0 0 7 23
Manufacturing / Industrial 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mixed Use 26 1 5 1 0 0 23 56
Office 6 2 2 0 0 0 10 20
Public Assembly / Entertainment 6 3 1 2 0 0 7 19
Public Services 2 0 2 0 0 0 12 16
Residential: Affordable Multi Family 64 6 9 1 4 0 40 124
Residential: Multi-family 39 6 15 3 0 1 47 111
Retail 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2
Senior Living 26 0 2 1 0 0 5 34
Warehouse / Storage 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Total 190 31 66 29 5 2 258 581

Projects are achieving Net Zero through on-site and off-site renewable energy procurement.

There are many procurement methods for renewable energy, which can greatly reduce operating costs and strain on the grid. This is happening across project types, powering buildings of all sizes.

On and Off-site Renewable Energy for Net Zero Buildings by Project Type
Project Type On-site Only Both Off-site Only Total
Education K-12 7.555 0.720 0.000 8.275
Education: Higher Ed 0.882 0.435 0.275 1.592
Food Sales & Service 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Healthcare 0.451 0.236 0.595 1.282
Laboratory / Tech / Science 3.971 0.460 3.944 8.376
Lodging 0.471 0.265 0.000 0.736
Manufacturing / Industrial 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Mixed Use 2.227 1.130 0.553 3.910
Office 0.345 0.016 0.446 0.807
Public Assembly / Entertainment 0.190 0.000 0.232 0.422
Public Services 0.573 0.077 0.000 0.650
Residential: Affordable Multi Family 4.903 0.271 0.250 5.423
Residential: Multi-family 2.824 0.912 0.355 4.090
Retail 0.022 0.000 0.000 0.022
Senior Living 1.465 0.329 0.000 1.794
Warehouse / Storage 0.090 0.000 0.000 0.090
Total 25.969 4.851 6.650 37.470